


A Voice from the Past

by shadowmaat



Series: Game of Thrones: Alderaan [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 22:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11953734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowmaat/pseuds/shadowmaat
Summary: During what should have been a quiet session of research Maul has a flashback to his past and finally puts a name to his nightmares.





	A Voice from the Past

They were alone in the library when it happened. A few cases wound up broken, but there was no lasting damage to their contents. One minute Bail had been helping Maul with a history of conservation project and the next Maul was huddled in a corner, broken shelves and data tapes scattered around him.

“Maul?” He stood, approaching with caution. It had been years since something like this had happened, but he’d learned the danger of reaching out too fast in this situation. “Maul, love, it’s alright. You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.” He kept his voice soft and gentle.

Maul had his arms wrapped around his head, fingers digging into his scalp between his horns.

“M-Master! No! I’m sorry!”

It felt like the temperature dropped ten degrees. That high, thready voice was barely recognizable. The last time he’d heard Maul calling out for a Master was when he’d been delusional with fever.

“Easy, Maul, easy. You’re safe. There are no… no masters here. Just us, and we’re  _ equals." _ He tried to reach out but Maul flinched away from his touch, so he lowered his arm. “Breathe. It’s okay.”

“No. No, that’s not…” Yellow eyes opened, still not quite focused. “That  _ voice," _ he hissed. “That  _ voice  _ is… he’s not here. He’s  _ not! _ Is he?”

“No, he isn’t here.” Belatedly it clicked that “he” might be referring to the recording they’d been listening to when Maul panicked. It was still playing. He hurried back to the desk to stop it, his confusion growing.

As soon as the speech stopped speaking Maul slumped, the air seeming to go out of him all at once. “He’s not here,” he murmured. “It wasn’t real.”

“Maul?” Bail moved towards him again. “Is that better? Are you okay now?” There were a million questions he wanted to ask, but his priority was making sure his lover was safe.

Maul blinked, eyes tracking Bail as he moved. Their color seemed to darken from a glowing yellow to a more subdued gold.

“Bail. What? I haven’t… that hasn’t happened to me for a while. Damn.” Grimacing at the destruction around him, Maul lifted a trembling hand to rub at his face. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, I’m fine. The tape shelves may be a loss, but they were getting old anyway.” Smiling, he crouched beside him.

“Kriff. I apologize. I’ll… I’ll replace them, I promise.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Bail said. “The important thing is that you’re okay, right? Do you know what happened?”

“Yes. No.” Maul frowned. “I’m not sure. That voice, though. I remember that voice.” He shuddered.

“The voice. You mean Senator Palpatine?” Bail kept his voice level as he asked the question burning inside him. “Did you know him?”

He wasn’t sure how a troubled preteen boy involved in illegal fight rings on Coruscant could have known Naboo’s previous- and by all accounts highly respected- senator, but Maul’s reaction had been undeniable.

The stare Maul gave him made him feel as if his thoughts had been laid bare, but he managed to hold his ground. 

At last Maul spoke. “A senator. I never knew his name.”

Bail waited, sensing that he was choosing his words with even more care than usual.

“That voice. I only ever knew it as  _ Master." _ He lifted his head. For a heartbeat his eyes seemed to glow. Bail felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. He remembered a long-ago visit to the family physician when Maul had been newly-arrived in their household. His mother had wanted him to receive a full check-up, distrusting of the reports from the prison doctors.

Bone scans had laid out Maul’s history in violent detail. Doctor Frayus had been furious to discover that old breaks not only predated his time in prison, but went far enough back to make it unlikely that they’d been received in the fight rings, either. His belief was that the injuries had been deliberately inflicted by whatever person had served as a caretaker for Maul as a youngling. Bail had blinked as the normally staid doctor had resorted to vulgarities to express his opinions about that unknown person. It had been a meeting full of unpleasantness and Frayus had nearly emptied out his candy drawer for a very passive Maul.

Maul rarely spoke of his past and Bail, along with the rest of his family, had respected his silence. This sudden revelation was overwhelming. Not only had Maul’s situation been even worse than he’d imagined, but those horrors had been carried out by a respected senator.

Bail hadn’t known much about Palpatine, but like many others he’d been sorry to hear of his death. He wasn’t sorry anymore. In fact an uncharitable part of his mind hoped he suffered before he died.

_ "Senator Palpatine _ was the one responsible for… for what happened to you,” he said, still trying to wrap his mind around it. He had no idea what to do with this information. Or what he could do to help Maul now. “He’s the one who… well.” He shook his head; there’d be time to process it all later. “Right. Okay. I believe you, I’m just surprised.” 

It was one of the bigger understatements he’d ever made. A twitch of a shoulder and eyes gazing past him were his only answer.

“Do you… would you like to talk about this some more? To me? Or maybe a…”

_ "No." _

Maul glared right at him this time. Bail nodded, unsurprised. 

“Okay. That’s fine. Thank you for telling me, though; I appreciate it.” Keeping his movements deliberate he reached out, cupping Maul’s face. “I’m sorry you went through that. If that bastard was still alive I’d kill him myself.”

Maul let out a little huff, leaning his cheek into Bail’s palm. “I doubt it would have been that easy. He was very powerful.”

“Mazi would have helped,” he said, remembering the hard, shiny look in her eyes during Maul’s feverish rant. “There wouldn’t have been enough left of him to bury.”

That earned him a smile. It was strained, but there. He leaned in for a kiss and was almost bowled over by the force of Maul’s response.

“I have an idea,” he said when he could breathe again. The glint in Maul’s eyes and the brief show of teeth had his heart speeding faster. “Why don’t we leave off studying Naboo’s conservation efforts and go for a walk in the gardens? I believe the starflowers are blooming.”

Maul rumbled his agreement and they helped each other up, staying close as they headed out of the library and on to a more vibrant environment. One that was full of life and color. And one that contained plenty of hidden alcoves for those seeking some escape.


End file.
